Crank axle construction for six-wheel busses



NOV. 17, 1931. M- C, HORlNE 1,831,862

CRANK AXLE CONSTRUCTION FOR SIX-WHEEL BUSSES Filed Oct. 25, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 d1 le f E i E a3 f k 4 a INVFNTOR Meryl! A'25?01'112 e,

A ITORNEYS Patented Nov. 14931 UNITED sTATEs IIERE.II.L c. 301mm, OEfNEw/Yonx, N. y., AssIGNOB. To INTEnNATIONAI. MOTOR cou'- PAN'Y, 0F. NEW YORK,-

N. Y., Av CORPORATION OE DELAWARE i AxLE O'oNs'rnUrTI'oN Eon. six-WHEEL EUssEs Appuaon am october 23.1929.' serial No.- 401,730.

`The present invention relates to chassis for cally, an improved motor-vehicles and emb'odies, more specifiislowered materially Aand -et affords a Isatisfactory road clearance an the drive thereof includes individual driving meansfor each of the driving wheels.

It is particularly7 contemplated to aiford' a vehicle construction which is characterized by extraordinary ease of riding, together withrfa light 'and simple construction, the unsprung portions of such vehicle being reduced K to a minimum `and the driving elements, in-

cluding the various gears and differential mechanisms, being highly eiiicient. In the construction described herein, two jack shafts are mounted upon the frame and secured rmly to the lower side thereof, the jack shaft mounting telescoping,l at their outer ends,

vwithin hollow quills which are formed within suitable cranks, or wheel mounting mechanisms, described .in greater detail hereinafter. The spring suspension for these cranks includes transverse inverted flat springs, the outer ends of which are preferably mounted within blocks of yielding non-metallic material carried -u on the cranks and the central portions of) which are journaled upon tubular cross frame members.

An object of the foregoing invention'is,

. accordin ly, to provide a` vehicle construction which a ords the desired'v road clearance and the center of gravity lof which is materially lowered.

A furtherl obj ect ofthe invention is to provide a construction of the above character which the drive is of such form as to eliminate the shocks ordinaril vfeltfdue to irregularities in the road sur aceand theconsequentf reaction of the driving mechanism thereto.v

A furthenobj ect of the invention is to provide an imprbved drive for a plurality 'of wheels which are mounted upon the frame by ,independent mechanisms.

Further objects, not specifically/enumerated above, will be apparent as the invention is described in greater detail in connection `with 'the accompanying drawings, wherein:

chassis in which the frame bracket c',

with the present invention.

Fi re 2 is aview in section, taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a view in section, taken on the hne 3-3 of Figure 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 -is a view in section, taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows..

Referring to the above drawings, a designates a vehicle frame carrying cross tubes to the spacing of the forward and rear driving wheels upon the frame and are provided with shoulders a2, between vwhich a bracket a3 is journaled. Each bracket carries a transverse inverted flat sprin a, the ends of which mount the'mechanisms for carrying the wheels as described in greater detail hereinafter. y

The primary drive is shown at b and constitutes a propeller shaft for supplying power to a forward differential b",which apportions power. between the jack shafts of the forward wheels and the rear shaft section b2. The shaft section b2 drives a rear differential b3 which apportions power rbetween the jack a These tubes are spaced apart equivalent-V lPATIENT Oil-'Elea shaft sections for driving the rear driving wheels.

on crank housings c2 which may be formed housings c2 and drive suitable sprockets?)5 which engage chains b", also within the crankv housings c2. These chains engage driven sprockets- 117 which are mounted upon stub shafts b8 within'the crank housings c?. The wheels. d are mounted upon the stub shafts 68. The mountno` of the quill c -within the and tlhe extension of the quill which telescopes the jack vshaft "aionds' great- ,in' two part-s, joined by suitable flangesv 03V and bolt-.s cf at the central section of the housing. Jack shafts b4 extend within the crank crank arm er steadiness against side motion of the crank housing, at the same time permitting the quill to oscillate freely.

From Figure 4 it will be apparent that the crank housings are made of two similar half sections bolted together at Vtheir flanges in the central section of thehousing. Bearing boxes c5 are f provided in the` housing sections for mounting the. corresponding ends of the jack shafts b4 and the stub shafts bs, respectively. The dead hub of the wheel c6 is formed exactly like the quillc7 to which the quill extension c is secured, thus enabling the housing to be completely `standardized and the elements thereof easily manufactured and assembled.

Vith referenceto the spring suspension,l

the brackets a3 are formed with elongated slots (1.5 which receive the propeller shaft b and shaft section b2, and permit relative movement between such brackets and the shaft sections.- Housings a6 are secured to 1the flanges c of the crank shaft housings and are p referably provided with yielding nonmetallic material for receiving the ends of the springs a4. By extending the crank housings in a forward direction from the jack shafts which drive them,'instead of pushing on the frame` the wheels exert a pulling effect thereon, thus affording a smoother drive. In sui-mounting obstacles in the road this position of the crank housing will cause the wheels to move slight-ly backward in their path as they move upwardly or downwardly, thus affording additional cushioningeifect. By reason of the fact that the springs a4. are securely mounted upon the brackets a3 without provision for pivotal movement of the springs in a .transverse plane, cach wheel has the benefit of an independent quarter-elliptic spring. Permitting the bracket a3 to oscillate freely about the tubular c ross members a compensates for the forward and back displacement of the spring owing to the crank arm action of the crank housings c2. It will be observed that the mounting of the springs as described above gives it added-leverage against the nat-h of the wheel oscillation, owing to the fact that the wheel is constrained to travel in a radius about the center of the jack shaft. This will .be clearly seen since the distance from the housings a6 tothe center of the jack shaft is much greaterl than the distance between the centers of the jack shafts and the corresponding stub shafts upon /which the wheels are mounted. In this manner7 the spring 'will have a very large deflection even though the vertical movement of the wheel spindle is not excessive, providing easier riding, by reason of the fact that the period of the spring becomes slower as its deflect-ion increases.

' While the invention has been described with specific reference to the structure shown in. thev accompanying' drawings, it is obvious that the elements thereof may be designed in a different manner and the arrangement thereof changed to suit individual requirements, and the invention is not to be limited, save as defined in the appended claims.

` I claim as my invention:

l. A drive for a motor vehicle comprising a driving wheel7 a crank housing journaled upon the frame, a transverse spring, means to mount the spring upon the frame with capacity for movemnt in a longitudinal plane, means to mount the spring upon the end of the housing`distant from-the journal, and means to mount the Wheel upon the housing between the spring mounting and-the journal.

2. A drive for a motor vehicle comprising a plurality of driving wheels,'crank housings journaled upon the frame at the sides thereof1 a transverse spring` means to journal the spring upon the frame with `capacity for movement with respect thereto in a longitudinal plane, means to'mount the ends of the spring upon thelends of the. housings distant .from the journals, and means to mount they wheels upon the housings between the sp1-ing moulitings andthe journals. y

This specification signed this 9th day of October. A. D. 1929. l

` MERRILL C. HORINE. 

